Testing their knowledge of typical secondary educational topics including science, grammar, geography, art, math, literature, and history, 21 Spring Grove Public School students competed on the 2013-14 Junior High Knowledge Bowl teams.

Junior High Knowledge Bowl is open to students in seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. The teams consist of six team members each and can have students from different grade levels. The students practiced one morning a week before school. They competed in Round Robin meets in October, November, and December where schools of all sizes compete against each other.

During the Round Robin meets, the team members were mixed and rearranged making different combinations. On Jan. 8, three teams were set and competed in the Sub-Regional meet against 22 other teams. At this meet the schools competed against schools of similar size. Spring Grove competed with the Tier A schools which included Caledonia, Fillmore Central, Goodhue, Grand Meadow, Houston, Kingsland, Lanesboro, Mabel-Canton, Rushford-Peterson, and Southland. The top 12 teams from then advance on to the Regional meet.

Spring Grove had two teams qualify for the Regional meet that was held on Jan. 13.

"The competition at the end [of the Regional meet] was very, very close," remarked coach, Scott Solberg. "It came right down to the end and the final questions. Our Team Three placed fourth, but was only a point and a half out of second place; it was a really close competition."

The Regional Meet is the last meet of the season for Junior High Knowledge Bowl teams. In Tier A, Rushford-Peterson placed first with 109.5 points, Fillmore Central was second with 95.5 points, Houston was third with 95 points, and Spring Grove's Team 3 was fourth with 94 points. Spring Grove's Team One placed ninth with 75 points.

"I think Junior High Knowledge Bowl is a great experience for kids - for them to be able to compete and have success academically is a really nice compliment to the other athletic and musical activities they participate in," added Solberg. "It's been a good year seeing the kids grow and work together."

Students that participated in Junior High Knowledge Bowl this year included the above two team members as well as Mariah Edgington, Noah Elton, Alex Folz, Jordan Jaster, Alyssa Johnson, Maria Myrah, Kailee Olerud, Brock Schuttemeier, and Kendra Waldenberger.